Lost Property

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many items were lost at (a) COD Donnington and (b) COD Bicester since September 2012; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the value of items lost at (a) COD Donnington and (b) COD Bicester was since September 2012; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will publish details of the auditing processes for (a) COD Donnington and (b) COD Bicester; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) Annual Report and Accounts includes reportable materiel losses. Culpable losses include the result of proven or suspected fraud, theft, arson or sabotage, or any other deliberate act including repairable damage caused maliciously to buildings, stores or other equipment.
	Non-culpable losses include the result of accidental damage or unavoidable and/or unforeseen circumstances. Non-culpable losses can also occur where the loss of materiel could be expected in the normal course of MOD business, e.g. inventory or equipment damaged or destroyed by enemy fire or due to authorised tests or practice firings. However, unless there is evidence of culpability, losses in these circumstances are not reportable in the Annual Report and Accounts.
	The total value of stock issued from Logistic Commodities and Services (LCS) Bicester and LCS Donnington for the period 1 October 2012 to 30 June 2013 was £3.8 billion. The number and value of reportable materiel losses for the same period is contained in the following tables:
	
		
			 Number of instances of loss 
			  LCS Bicester LCS Donnington 
			 Lost on site 2 12 
			 Lost in transit 390 1,058 
			 Notes: 1. A single incidence may involve the loss of more than one item. 2. 30 June 2013 is the end of the last full quarterly accounting period. 
		
	
	
		
			 Value of items lost 
			 £000 
			  LCS Bicester LCS Donnington 
			 Lost on site 5 20 
			 Lost in transit 606 1,883 
			 Note: The figures are gross and do not include any potential future recovery of lost items. 
		
	
	The principles and processes for materiel accounting are contained within the Defence Logistic Support Chain Manual (Volume 4) which is published on the internet at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jsp-886-volume-04-materiel-accounting
	The LCS Bicester and LCS Donnington materiel and financial accounts are audited by the Defence Internal Audit Team and the National Audit Office.
	In November 2012 Defence Equipment and Support began implementing the Inventory Strategic Plan to control inventory within the future Defence supply chain. This programme of work will drive the practice of high quality inventory management throughout the Department that will deliver and maintain optimised inventory across Defence.